Beginning to Ride

Riding Uphill

Increase the throttle to maintain your speed. The deeper the snow, the more speed you need.

Don’t stop until you get to the top. If you lose forward momentum, you may not be able to start climbing again.

Figure 1: Riding uphill

Riding Downhill

Use the sitting position.

Sit as far back on the seat as possible.

Stay focused and be prepared to stop—losing control is the greatest hazard.

Do not release the clutch. Keep the clutch engaged to help you slow down.

Pump the brake firmly every few seconds to maintain a slow speed or stop. Applying a hard brake abruptly can cause the snowmobile to slide.

If you are at the top of a hill and other snowmobiles are coming up, allow them to pass you before going down.

Figure 2: Riding downhill

Traversing a Hill

Use the kneeling position with your uphill leg standing on the running board and your downhill leg on the seat.

Lean your body uphill at all times, which keeps your weight on the uphill side of the track.

On hard-packed snow, your snowmobile may slide. Try pointing the front at a steeper angle uphill, or look for more loosely packed snow.

Figure 3: Traversing a hill

Turning

Lean into turns to gain more control while turning.

Placing more body weight forward and into the turn puts more load on the inside ski and keeps it down on the snow, giving it a better bite.

Stopping

Pull over to the extreme right.

Stop on the right side of the trail.

Don’t stop on a curve or hill

Crossing a Road

Select a crossing point that offers good visibility in both directions.

Before crossing, come to a complete stop on the shoulder of the road.

Look both ways and yield to any traffic on the road.

Drive forward slowly. A snowmobile is hard to handle on pavement.

Drive straight across, not at an angle, to minimize the distance you need to travel.

Large snow banks often line both sides of the road. To drive down a bank, post and lean toward the top of the bank as you descend. Never attempt this if a vehicle is approaching. To climb up a bank, lean toward the bank and apply the throttle.

When traveling in a group, appoint a crossing guard who crosses the road first. The crossing guard then gets off his snowmobile, watches for traffic traveling in both directions, and signals for one snowmobile at a time to cross the road.